A shooter then enters... Meaning of "then"?

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Shisam
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A shooter then enters... Meaning of "then"?

Post by Shisam »

You entered a room, of 34 people. A shooter then enters killing 30. How many people are left in the room?

My question is on use of then in this sentence. Does it mean the shooter killed 30 people aomewhere outside the room and entered the room or does it mean the shooter killed 30 people inside the room?
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Joe
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Re: A shooter then enters... Meaning of "then"?

Post by Joe »

Shisam wrote: Thu May 21, 2020 10:47 am You entered a room, of 34 people. A shooter then enters killing 30. How many people are left in the room?

My question is on use of then in this sentence. Does it mean the shooter killed 30 people aomewhere outside the room and entered the room or does it mean the shooter killed 30 people inside the room?
The shooter killed 30 people inside the room.
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rotan
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Re: A shooter then enters... Meaning of "then"?

Post by rotan »

I think it's not "then" which explains it.
In this case, "then" indicates only the fact that he entered the room after you did.
What actually reveals his order is "killing".
If he did it outside and then entered the room, it would be something like "A shooter then enters the room, having already killed 30 people". (outside)
But since it's "killing" it indicates he did it after entering the room (inside)

Besides... it's pretty self-explanatory - why would anyone ask you how many people was left in the room (knowing there were 34 originally), if the shooting didn't actually take place in there? :-D
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